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H. w. snowman. AUTOMOBILE TORPEDO. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3h 19!?- RENEWED JAN. 21. 1919.

1,302,982. Patented May 6, 1919,

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H. W. SHONNARD.

AUTOMOBILE TOHPEDO. APPLICATION man MAR, 31. 1911. RENEWED IAN. 21.1919- 2 swans-Sum '2- 1,3;O2,982. Patented May 6, 1919..

INVENTOR m: Nmems PETERS co.. FHOTD-LIYHO. WASHINCIDN. 0v 0.

UNITED STATES PATENT oE roE.

HAROLD w. snowman, 0F UPPER MoN'rcLAIE, N W JEEsEY, ASSIGNOR ro oEociELSTEEL COMPANY 0E AMERICA, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OFNEW JERSEY.

Application filed March 31, 1917, Seria1'158,902.

of the United States, have invented ordis covered certain new and usefulImprovements in Automobile Torpedoes, of which improvements thefollowing is a specification.

In the actual construction of automobile torpedoes, the usual practiceisto provide a pair of oppositely rotatable tandem propellers and toprovide, coaxially therewith,

a passageway for the escape from the tor pedo of the spent or exhaustmotivefiuid. The objection to such an arrangement is that in order topreserve the desired contour of the tail and at the'same time to providean adequate central exhaust passageway, it becomes necessary to uselarge diameter propellers, so large in fact that the skin friction ofthe propellers'is increased to such an extent that there is asubstantial loss of motive power. To surmount this, as well as otherprejudicial features incident to the use of tandem propellers withcentral ex haust, twin propellers with an intermediate andpropeller-separating exhaust passage ways have been suggested. However,in such prior suggestions,the constructions are such as to preclude thedevelopment of maximum power efficiency.

In view of the foregoingconsiderations, it is the object of my inventionto provide an automobile torpedo wherein the tail construction andarrangement of propelling mechanism and exhaust ports issuchthat thepropellers may be constructed to develop a maximum torpedo speed atmaximum propeller and motive power efficiency.

In the" accompanying sheets of drawings,

forming part of may specification, I have illustrated the preferredembodiment of my invention. Figure 1 is a combined plan and longitudinalhorizontal sectional view of a portion of a torpedo; Figs. 2 and 3 are,respectively, side and rear end views ofthe torpedo tail; and Fig. 4 asectional view taken on the lineIV-IV, Fig. 3.

In the practice of my invention I provide twin propellers having theiraxes of rotation lying in a common substantially horizontal plane andhaving their blades overlapping midway between such axes; and,

to correlated with such. propeller arrangement,

Specification of Letters Patent.

AUTOMOBILE TORPEDO.

Patented May6,1919. Renewed lanuary w, 1919. Serial No. 273,483.

I provide an exhaust conduit independently of the propeller shafts.Preferably I place the tail varies and vertical and horizontal ruddersentirelypto' the fore of the propellers so thatthemaximum overalldimension of the assembled propellers may be substantlall'y the same as,or but slightly less than,

the maximum diameter of the torpedo body or, shell. By such aconstruction and arrangement of the-essential elements of the torpedotail, maximum power efficiency may be developed.

For the sakefof simplicity the drawings show only such partsof thetorpedo; as are necessary to adequately illustrate my. invention.Referring now to the illustrative embodiment of my invention, the hullof the torpedo afterbody is made up oftwo separate sections 1 and 2, thehull section 2 comprising the tail of the torpedo and, together with atransverse partition 3, forming a chamber for the reception of exhaustgases which may be conducted from the torpedo engine to such chamberthrough conduits 4. Apair of parallel propeller shafts 5,a'dapted to besimultaneously and uniformlyrotated in opposite direction by the torpedoengine, extends through the tail section" 2 and terminate aft of the'end of the tail.

' To the ends of these shafts, the propellers 6, each preferably havingfour blades, are attached. The diameter of the propellers and the centerto center distance-of the shafts '5 are such that'the propeller bladesoverlap midway between the shafts, and also, such that the maximumoverall dimension of the assembled 1 propellers may be substantially asgreat as the maximumdiam'eter of the torpedo body. Furthermore, therelative positions of the propellers upon the shafts are such that inthe rotation"of-theshaftsthe :blades mesh with each other in a mannersimilar to the teeth of spur gears. I

Vertical and horizontal vanes 7 and 8 project from the tail 2 and areprovided at their ends with vertical and horizontal rudders 9 and 10. Asindicated, the vanes preferably terminate sufficiently short of theforward edges of the propellers to permit the rudders to be placedbetween the ends of the vanes and the forward edges of the propellerblades, thus making it unnecessary to diminish the diameter of thepropellers by the provision of members at their sides to sup port therudders aft of the propellers! edges of the vanes.

. The continuity of the horizontal rudders S is interrupted by housings11 for the propeller shafts 5, such housings being provided at theirends with suitable shaft bearings 12.

For the escape from the tail 2 of the exhaust gases led thereto, aconduit separate from the propeller shafts is provided, thus making itunnecessary to increase the diameter of the shafts beyond the sizerequired for structural purposes. In the present embodiment of myinvention such an exhaust conduit or tube 13 is shown attached to theouter edge of the upper vertical tail vane 7. To afford a rigidconstruction, the tube 13 preferably provided with a longitudinal slotacent to the vane to receive the outer edge thereof, the edges of thetube being subsequently welded or otherwise secured to the For furtherstructural rigidity the tubes may be provided with a plurality of rivets14. By thus discharging the gases at a point above and midway betweenthe propellers, the gases will not, by becoming intermingled withthewater surrounding the propellers, interfere with their properoperation. If desired a second exhaust conduit 13 maybe attached to thelower Vertical tail vane.

It will be observed of the torpedothus shown and described that thearrangement and GOnstruction of the essential elements of th tail aresuch as to a a n t or s O ject inventiom Accordi g to-the p o isio s f hpatent statute I have descr b he prin iple and op ration of my i ventiont get w h the construction which I now consider to reprent the esembodim er fv I desire to have it understood that my invenltioninay bepractised with other formsjof construction than that specifically shownherein. I claim as my invention:

1, In an automobile torpedo the combination with a hull ofa pair ofparallel eccentrio propeller shafts, a pair of twin propellers securedone to the outer end of each shaft and in such position that the bladesof said propellers overlap midway between said I Copies this patent maybe obtained 1'01- secured to the outer Witnesses:

shafts, a vertically disposed tail v'a'ne attached to said hullsubstantially midway bemidway between the axis of rotation of saidpropellers;

I 2. In an 3 automobile torpedo, v the combination with a hull, of apair of parallel eccentric propeller shafts, a pair of twin propellerssecured oneto each shaft, the blades of said propellers overlappingmidway between said shafts, a vertically disposed'tail vane midwaybetween said shafts but terminating short of the general. planeof-rotation of said propellers,-and an exhaust tube envelopmg andsecured to the outer edge of said vane.

8. In an automobile torpedo, the combination withra hull, of a. pair ofparallel eccentric propeller shafts lying in a common substantiallyhorizontal plane, a pair of twin propellers secured one to each shaft,the

blades of said propellers overlapping midway between said shafts, a pairof vertically disposed tail vanes midway between said shafts andextending one above and one below said plane thereof,fand an exhausttube portion of each of said vanes.

4:. In an automobile torpedo, the combination with a hull, of a pair ofarallel eccentric propeller shafts, a pair of twin propellers seei'iredone to each shaft, the blades v of said propellers overlapping midway.between said shafts, vertical and'horizontal tail vanes secured to saidhull and provided at their ends with vertical and horizontal rudders,said rudders-being to the fore of said propellers, and an exhaustconduit independent of said shafts. a e

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set m'yhand. i v p HAROLD IV.SHONNARD.

'HERMANC. ENGELMAN, GEo. V. JAMES.

five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of lfatentl washingtoml). G. I

